The work of Nagadhunga tunnel started in the month that was stopped

Navinman Shrestha, the head of Nagadhunga tunnel construction project, said that the suspended work has started according to the same agreement. "The work was stopped for a month, by this time the finishing work would have been started after the 'break through' of the tunnel," he said.

The work has progressed after a nine-point agreement was reached with the ministry and the locals who stopped the work. The main demands being raised by the residents of Chandragiri Municipality-2 are provision of drinking water, irrigation, and after the construction of the project, priority should be given to the local victims in the tunnel operation based on their qualifications and abilities. But it is not much to dig a tunnel, if you can dig a 14 meter tunnel, you will have a 'break through'. On February 23, when the tunnel was about to be 'break through', the locals stopped the project by putting forward various new/old demands, so that the work was stopped from February 6 on both Dhading and Kathmandu.

The construction of the tunnel is being done by the Japanese company Hazma Endo Corporation. In this project, which has a contract of 22 billion rupees, Japan has loan assistance of 16 and a half billion rupees. The Government of Nepal has invested 6 billion rupees in this. Project head Shrestha said that there is a danger that the construction company will claim compensation for not being able to use manpower and machines when the work is stopped for a month.

Excavation of 2.674 km out of 2.688 km of the main tunnel has been completed. "The work has been stopped for a long time, so the time for the tunnel to be put into operation has also been pushed back," Chief Shrestha said. Traffic jams on Nagadhunga uphill will be reduced. 51 months have passed since its construction started. The work of the flyover under construction in Thankot was also stopped due to the obstruction of the locals. Project chief Shrestha said that after the agreement, its work has also resumed.

It has not yet been decided whether to charge a fee for driving through this tunnel. Chief Shrestha said, "The question of whether or not to charge a fee for using the tunnel is under discussion, and what to do about it will be decided before the tunnel is put into operation." The distance of which is 2557 meters. "When the emergency tunnel finishing work was also stopped, no progress could be made," he said.

The demand for an extension of the deadline has been put forward by construction professionals as the work has been stopped for a long time. But the project claims that no decision has been made on this yet. According to the initial agreement, the project period has ended in 080 Baisakh. Since the work is not completed within that time, the deadline has been extended to 081 Baisakh 13. According to the contract, the construction of the tunnel, which was started in October 2007, was to be completed within 42 months. But the project said that the work could not be completed at the specified time due to the occasional disruptions caused by the Covid. The physical progress of the overall project is 69.15 percent. Since the project started, 3 underpasses, 4 box culverts, 1 overpass, 3 bridges have been constructed.